Sony have mentioned a few times that they see the platform as good for other format lenses, and I see no reason for them to lie. Some people have been posting excellent results with other format and legacy lenses. My point is just about the relative cost of Leica lenses.

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harold.co.il

No need for 'conspiracies'... the fact of (relatively) cheap bodies and (relatively) expensive lenses for the A7/r series is a pretty clear indication of the marketing strategy!

Let's look a bit closer at the A-mount adaptors: they certainly 'work', the resulting IQ is good and the adaptors provide aperture and (for the LA-EA2/4) focus coupling. However using an A-mount lens via the adaptor is nowhere near as nice as using a native E-mount lens on the same body, and likewise it is not as nice to use that A-mout lens on an E-mount body as it is to use the A-mount lens on an A-mount body!

This is strange as it would have been very easy for Sony to improve the experience enormously with just a few changes to the adaptors. eg. For the LA-EA4:

- Use the 19-point AF system instead of the older 15-point one (this would also interest many NEX users)

- Add a toggle button/switch which allows the user to directly select AF point via the D-controller, or even better place a joystick directly on the adaptor that allows AF point selection rather than having to dive into camera body menus as is currently the case

- Add an MF/AF toggle or focus-hold switch to the adaptor (ideally customisable so allow either)

- Allow image magnification when AF is activated so you can check focus (currently disabled)

- Allow focus peaking when AF is activated so you can check focus (currently disabled)

- Sense when the focus ring on a screw-AF lens is moved (this causes the screw drive to turn) so that DMF can be activated on the body

- Assign the button on many longer a customisable value, as is possible on A-mount bodies

At least a few of these things would have been easily possible, particularly as the LA-EA4 is now a second-generation product following on from the LA-EA2... so why didn't Sony do it?